FHA Issues Waiver of Property Inspections in Disaster-Stricken California Counties. FHA has issued a waiver of its timing policy for completing property inspections prior to closing or endorsing a loan for FHA insurance. The waiver is in effect in presidentially declared major disaster areas in Lake and Shasta Counties, CA, that were ravaged by wildfires and high winds. FHA believes that the wildfires and high winds have stabilized so as not to cause any further damage to properties, even though FEMA has not declared “all clear” in the affected areas. The waiver allows damage inspections to be completed after Oct. 2, for properties located in the PDMDA. NC Commissioner of Banks Amends State Reverse Mortgage Rules. The North Carolina Commissioner of Banks recently amended its ...
When the going gets tough in the mortgage industry and profit margins begin to wither, thinly capitalized lenders start heading for the exits. But of late, the selling has been light, with a few large blockbuster deals – Ditech and loanDepot – remaining in the “maybe” column. “There’s a lot of chatter out there, but not much in the way of done-deals,” said Chuck Klein, managing partner of Mortgage Banking Solutions, Austin, TX. “But companies are concerned – they’re looking at the next 24 months and ...
The CFPB’s recent efforts to create a regulatory sandbox for financial technology (fintech) companies would benefit the mortgage industry, said a former CFPB attorney. Ever since the agency hired Paul Watkins, a lawyer who helped establish the nation’s first regulatory sandbox for fintech companies, to lead its Office of Innovation in July, fintech regulation has become an area of focus at the bureau. The CFPB in August joined a global fintech regulatory initiative ...
Thanks to strong MBS issuance and a favorable interest-rate picture, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are likely to post robust results for the third quarter, topping their earnings from the previous period, according to a new analysis from Inside MBS & ABS. Based on single-family MBS issued in July and August, Freddie likely will end the third quarter with issuance north of $83.1 billion, compared to $82.3 billion in 2Q18. Fannie is on track to issue $135.0 billion in securities, compared to $111.6 billion in ...
Commercial banks and savings institutions valued their mortgage-servicing rights at historically high levels at the end of the second quarter, even as industry leaders continued to pull back from the sector. A new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call-report data reveals that the industry serviced $3.563 trillion of single-family mortgages for other investors, usually loans held in mortgage-backed securities trusts. The industry total servicing for others was down ... [Includes one data chart]